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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26789737">what the fuck are perfect places anyway?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspenRoman/pseuds/AspenRoman'>AspenRoman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>tyzula one shots [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern with Bending (Avatar), Awkward Flirting, Bad Cooking, Bisexual Ty Lee (Avatar), F/F, First Meetings, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Meet-Cute, Romance, ty lee can't cook to save her life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:15:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,681</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26789737</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspenRoman/pseuds/AspenRoman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>when ty lee sets off the fire alarm at 3am, she doesn't think anything of it. until, a very pretty and very angry girl starts complaining to her and she can't help but blurt out it was her fault.</p>
<p>or "it’s 3am, in the dead of winter, some motherfucker pulled/set off the fire alarm and I am being very vocal about how I’m gonna make that fucker pay" meet-cute</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>tyzula one shots [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937983</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>160</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>what the fuck are perfect places anyway?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>yes im writing this at 3:30am</p>
<p>i am v tired and did not edit either, but i hope u guys enjoy the little easter eggs i set to the song "perfect places" by lorde (finished at 4:37am)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's not like Ty Lee intends for her night (or, well morning?) to end up this way, she's simply studying for her English GenEd when she gets hungry. And logically the easiest thing to make at 3am is a grilled cheese, so she tugs on a sweatshirt over her crop top and pads down the hallway to her dorm's communal kitchen. As silently as possible, she walks past dark rooms and finally makes it to the end of the hall where she flicks on the light switch. Fluorescent light floods the tiny kitchen, showing off nothing more than a stovetop and a crusty fridge. Rustling around in the fridge, Ty Lee manages to find a loaf of white bread and a few slices of American cheese. After she throws the ingredients onto the counter, she finds a saucepan that looks clean and puts it on the burner.</p>
<p>Really, everything is going well, perfect even.</p>
<p>Until it isn't.</p>
<p>It's a slight miscalculation on her part, but really it was Mai's fault for sending her such a long rant about her newest boyfriend, Kei Lo, and Ty Lee thought she would be a bad friend if she hadn't responded. After all, Mai had been around for her fair share of hookups and the reality of them. She used to drink a lot more, but often spending a night off her face and waking up to a stranger had turned Ty Lee off of drinking. in fact, Ty Lee used to be quite the partier, but only finding her worth when she was dancing began to get old. It all felt empty, trying to find the love of her life in wasted teenagers or people who were young and ashamed. She doesn't exactly scream it from the rooftops that she's bisexual, but she doesn't hide it either. Besides, most of the time she only had graceless night after graceless night before she finally stopped. Mai was a big reason for that, her broody best friend who never tried to conform or fit in. Because of this, Ty Lee often found herself dropping everything to talk to her best friend about anything and everything.</p>
<p>It isn't until she sees the dark plumes of smoke rising from the saucepan. She didn't think bread burnt <em>that </em>quickly but she pockets her phone and coughs as she waves the smoke away, praying to God that nothing would come of it. It doesn't work, of course, and moments later the fire alarms blare throughout the entire floor. Ty Lee runs away from the scene of the crime as fast she can, taking the steps down to the first floor two-at-a-time as she hears doors opening and grumbly, sleepy college students entering the halls. She's one of the first people from her floor to get outside, just as snow begins to sprinkle down from the sky, because of course.</p>
<p>Around her, people huddle together in groups to try and keep warm. It's almost endearing in a way, to see all these other students stripped down to no makeup and their most comfortable clothes. While she had always been outgoing, going to Ba Sing Se University, over 500 miles away from her home was a bit daunting. It makes everyone around her seem a lot more human and not as scary as a lot of the benders tried to be. Ty Lee wraps her arms around herself as she sees more and more people come out of the dorm building. She recognizes a few of her floormates, Suki, Sokka, Katara, and Aang, but only nods in greeting.</p>
<p>It's hard being the new kid at a university often titled as a "second high school", and even her bubbly personality can't help her all the time. The fact she doesn't drink either didn't help, and she definitely didn't enjoy parties as much as she used to. In fact, the only party she had attended at Ba Sing Se ended as a bunch of wasters blew out the speakers and everyone left at midnight. Ty Lee doesn't remember it being so hard to make friends in high school, but Mai reassures her that it's only a first semester thing. She hopes she's right.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the sea of people parts for a dark-haired girl who looks furious. Blue flames stretch up her forearms and lick at her skin, but she doesn't even seem fazed. Her golden eyes scan the crowds of people before she stops herself a few feet away from Ty Lee. The stranger has on a pair of silk pajamas and her hair is down and blowing back in the wind. Snowflakes fall onto her hair and instantly disappear. Even from a few feet away, Ty Lee could see that steam was radiating off of the girl.</p>
<p>"I don't know what kind of an imbecile thought it was a good idea to burn a fucking grilled cheese at 3am, but I swear to god I'm going to murder them," Azula rants, her eyes still locked forward.</p>
<p>"Are you, are you talking to me?" Ty Lee asks her, confused.</p>
<p>Azula glances at her, "Do I look like I'm insane? Of course I'm talking to you. I'd rather stand next to you than some other random peasants."</p>
<p>The compliment is back-handed and Ty Lee isn't really sure how to respond, so she just stares at her, completely slack-jawed. At her expression, Azula rolls her eyes and groans, "Not you too."</p>
<p>"No, no, sorry, just tired," Ty Lee rambles, "and the cold isn't helping."</p>
<p>"It's cold to you?" Azula asks.</p>
<p>Ty Lee nods slowly, "It's literally snowing."</p>
<p>By now, the snow has begun to fall in heavier layers and the entire grass is covered in a few layers of fluff. However, there's a definite circle around Azula's feet of pure, green grass and Ty Lee can practically feel the heat coming off of her in drones. Azula seems confused for a moment before she glances down and tilts her head at Ty Lee.</p>
<p>"Not a bender?" Azula says.</p>
<p>"Nope," Ty Lee tells her.</p>
<p>Azula looks at her with an unreadable expression, "Do you ever wish you were?"</p>
<p>"I used to," Ty Lee shrugs and hugs herself tighter, "but I think I'm good in a fight without having to depend on it. I don't know, it makes me special I guess and I like that feeling."</p>
<p>"You don't need bending to be special, it's an innate thing," Azula says and before Ty Lee can ask for clarification, the firebender gestures her over, "step over."</p>
<p>Hesitantly taking a side-step toward Azula, Ty Lee is quickly met with radiator-like heat branching off of the girl in waves. Azula doesn't even seem phased at the heat bending as she finally extinguishes her fire-forearms and stares up at the sky. Snowflakes flutter down from the cloudy, dark sky and land on the bridge of Azula's nose. As soon as they land, they melt and Ty Lee can't help but stare. The golden-eyed girl is intense sure, but she's also incredibly pretty and Ty Lee can't seem to look away from her, her own personal bonfire in the middle of the snow. It's only been a few seconds but Ty Lee already feels much warmer, almost like she was sat in front of a furnace.</p>
<p>"Thank you," Ty Lee lets go of her own arms and nervously runs a hand over her braid.</p>
<p>"Don't thank me. I wouldn't even have to do this shit if some idiot knew how to cook," Azula says shortly.</p>
<p>"I'm Ty Lee," Ty Lee says instead of blurting out her secret.</p>
<p>"I know," Azula says and Ty Lee's eyes widen in surprise, "we live on the same floor. We talked on move-in day."</p>
<p>"Oh," Ty Lee says lamely.</p>
<p>Azula cracks her neck, "It's Azula."</p>
<p>"Nice to see you again," Ty Lee tells her and Azula snorts, "I've always loved the snow you know, it's just so beautiful."</p>
<p>Around them, Ty Lee watches as the other students start to mess around in the snow. Some shove each other toward the ground while others throw snowballs at each other. Suki and Sokka are on the ground making snow-angels as Katara and Aang stand around them with amused looks. Everyone is so careful and she thinks that maybe, just maybe her burned grilled cheese turned into something good. Besides her, Azula is quiet and Ty Lee's attention is drawn back to her as the taller girl sighs and crosses her arms across her chest.</p>
<p>"It's fine," Azula says simply, "and it's great to look at but I would rather wake up to it at a nice 7am instead of being stuck in it at 3 because of some asshole."</p>
<p>"I was the idiot," Ty Lee finally blurts out, "that was my grilled cheese."</p>
<p>Azula's head snaps over to her with her eyes set in a glare, "It was <em>you?!"</em></p>
<p>"I'm sorry! I was hungry," Ty Lee defends and holds her hands up in defense.</p>
<p>Azula glares at her for another second before her scowl disappears and she presses her lips together. Azula turns back to look forward and closes her eyes for a second. She turns her nose up and clears her throat, "Well, you can make it up to me if you'd like."</p>
<p>"How?" Ty Lee questions cautiously.</p>
<p>"Meet me at the kitchen at, hmm, 6pm tomorrow?" Azula still doesn't look at her, "Someone should teach you to cook before you burn this whole school down."</p>
<p>Ty Lee can't help but smile, "Is this a date?"</p>
<p>"I'm simply making sure my floormate doesn't endanger my life again," Azula opens her eyes and Ty Lee giggles.</p>
<p>"For the record, I think you're very pretty and I accept," Ty Lee smiles.</p>
<p>And as Azula's cheeks flush, Ty Lee feels satisfaction flow through her body knowing that the firebender's cheeks were red because of her and not the cold. All in all, her night could've been worse, way worse. Maybe it wasn't the perfect place or perfect time to meet, but Ty Lee maybe it all ended up pretty perfect for her. </p>
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